Identification Truths
Courtney Hemenway · Feb 26, 2006
Identification (2005-06), No. 21
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/48262344491065

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

I want to go over some of the terms that we've been going over. I don't know about you, but we use a lot of these terms, and I think I know them, and then I go back over them, and I don't remember what they are. Because of my inept ability to remember these things, I wanted to see if you remember these things. So we went about last week, we just touched on the beginning of what identification means.

The identification in Adam and the identification in Christ and what that means. It's something you can't wash off, you can't change, you can't do anything. If you're in Adam, you're identified with him. There's nothing you can change about it other than crucify him. And then we're identified wholly with Christ. And all that's true about Him is true about us.

And that in itself could be six months of study. That is so amazing to me, that all that's true of Him is true of us. And that's where I think the eternality, as I've said many times, that made a lot of sense to me. Once we're in Christ, all those things are true about predestination, all those different things we see in Ephesians. When you're in Him, all that's true about Him is true about you. We always look forward, well, it's past too.

So, all those terms, they make sense to me now, as opposed to free will and selection and all those different things. When you're in Him, all those things become at least clear to me. So, identification. Okay, what does reckon mean? Okay, don't all speak up at once. Yeah, other, it was like, this is the one about like a manifest and so count as true is, yeah. Other thoughts, Reckon?

Believe. On. Facts. You can believe about anything, but it's a belief in facts. The word is Logizomai, the Greek one, to take an account or inventory. This is the one where the manifest, it's a belief of the facts and my resulting attitude in the view of the facts. And the thing is, reckoning does not make the fact, but is commanded in view of the facts. So again, the reckoning doesn't make this true.

It's true already. Believing it. Okay? Understand that? They all said, yes, yes. A few nods, a few blank looks out there. Okay. Okay, reckoning. Justified. Justified. I'm still thinking about what she said about truth. A fact is the truth. Yeah, your belief in the truth or that fact. The reckoning part is the belief in that.

Isn't it like the manifest? You take an inventory. They're there. The fact is there. And you're just taking inventory of that fact. You believe in that. You take an accounting of that fact. It doesn't change anything about that fact. It's just now you reckon or you account for that truth. So, it's a belief in that fact. Or you account for that truth being true.

Yeah, when it comes to spiritual in us, yes. The term reckoning is the accounting fact or reckoning of the truth. In ours, it's the reckoning of the truth of what God has said is true. It is a fact. And it's our accounting or belief in that fact. So we reckon or believe that fact is true. But it doesn't change the fact of that truth.

So it's more of a response. Yeah, it's our understanding or belief. It goes back to the symbol of the belief. It's belief. Maybe the Romans 6 example is a good one. The first 10 verses state facts that we're to believe. Right. That's faith. Right. Belief.

When you get to 11, it says to reckon yourself in deed, denial, and sin, and alive unto God. The issue is, is that not only are those facts true, but they have now been personalized to you. Yeah. Well, you have to, I mean, you personalize, you have to come to believe those. They're true objectively, but they're true of me too. So would reckoning be just more action oriented?

Yes, I think it's on our account of our reckoning or believing that that is true. So that's our belief in those true facts. It doesn't matter what we do with, I mean, it does matter what we do with those facts. It's just, whatever we do doesn't change the truth of those facts. All that Christ did, that's a fact that's true. Our reckoning of it is our belief in that.

I understand that that's true and I believe that's true. Would it be like an attitude about the truth? I don't know, an attitude, you know, it's belief. I don't know if that's an attitude or what. It's an understanding of that truth. It's like the manifest, you know, it's the guy who, yeah, there's 15 boxes here. I count that there are 15 boxes there. It doesn't change the fact that there are 15 there. It's just that understanding or belief in the truth of those facts.

So I don't know if it's an attitude, it's our belief in those truths that God has. It's really a growth process, because when we accepted Christ as our Savior, we didn't know that, had no clue. But it was a fact that it happened anyway. So as you go on, now we reckon that this is also true. Now that you know it. Yeah, when we started, the truths were still out there and true. It's as we mature and we reckon, we believe and understand those are true, yeah. It's as we grow.

Maybe you believe that the lottery is $15 million, but reckoning is that you won it in the jury. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, reckoning and the lottery, I just don't know if I can break that. You've got to be going to buy a ticket. Yeah, well, there's an old joke about that. Yeah, I sent a boat, I sent everything. Why didn't you do it? No, anyway. Okay, sanctified. This one should be an easy one. Oh no, justified. You're right, we were back on justified. We had to reverse. Justified. Justified. This is why I'm going over these terms again.

It's a position in Christ before God. Not really. It's looking at it from the other side. From God's side. How God sees me in Christ. Right. The justification is to pronounce or declare one righteous. So it's God declaring you righteous. So it's from God's perspective looking at you. He's justifying you. You know, you, and we'll get down to this, I think one of the questions down at the bottom, yes, number seven, we'll get to that, the difference between justification and righteousness. But this is from God's perspective. God declares you righteous. Okay, and actually it's dikaiou, or to show regard as just or innocent is the Greek word. But it's basically to pronounce or declare one righteous.

Sanctified. That should be an easy one. Set apart. Set apart. Hagiadzo is the word, and it is to make holy. Basically, it's to set apart. And in God, it's to set apart for God's use. So, we're sanctified. We are set apart positionally in Christ. So, sanctified is set apart.

Reconciled. See, the only reason I do this, and I'm looking at you guys, I went through this because I started going in, when Mike goes on his terms, I'm going back through my mind going, what, now do I know that word? And I always get reckoned and reconciled. Messed up. So, I've given you reckoned, so now you're up to reconciled. Reconciled. Yeah.

Yeah, to exchange or to restore to a different position, I guess. The word is katalagehi. And that is exchange, figuratively or adjustment, restoration to divine favor. So, yeah, an exchange brought back to divine favor. The Webster's Dictionary version of it was, this is kind of interesting, yeah, to cause to be friendly or harmonious again, adjust or settle differences, to bring to submission or acceptance. But it's basically a restoration to a divine position.

And do you remember, we looked at this, I don't know, was it one, maybe two weeks ago, like four weeks ago now, in Lesson 18, we looked at reconciliation, and there's two different ways to look at reconciliation, and there was in Corinthians and Colossians passage, we looked at, we were reconciled by God, and then the other in the Romans-Corinthians passage is, we are reconciled to God.

So it's God who reconciles us and what does He do? He reconciles us to Himself. So He brings us into that position of divine favor. He reconciles us and then He brings it to Himself. So it's just the different aspects of reconciliation but it's all done by God. It's done by Him and to Him.

I hear all those terms. I think of today, when a man commits a crime and goes to prison for 20 years and is released, he's never reconciled. He's never forgiven. He's never any of these things because that's always on his record. When they run a background check on you, it's always there. Yeah, there's no... He's been deepened into death. But not with God. Right. That's exactly right. Yes.

Another reason why man couldn't have come up with it. What about propitiation? Big term. Propitiation. Oh, we went through this like a week ago. Propitiation. Satisfaction of God's holiness. It's God's satisfaction. In Webster's, to gain or regain the favor of, the Greek word is hilasterion, and expitore, a place or a thing, an atoning victim. And remember, it was also the lid of the ark. Why was that important? Mercy seat, okay? So, this is the satisfaction on the mercy seat, the judgment and all this, the satisfaction of God.

So, propitiation means the satisfaction of God. So, he was propitiated by Christ, paying for our sins, dying on the cross. He was paid in full, satisfied by Christ going to the cross. So, the propitiation and the satisfaction. I think the last one here, sorry, just righteous, righteousness. Yeah, holy, innocent, before God. Yeah, I mean that was probably a good definition. So righteous, righteousness.

All right, now we will get to our questions. So we can get through this, and we're going to have to speed through this. So everybody get your Bibles out, and we're going to go whizzing through these very quickly. Okay, our first possession, position possession number nine, children of God. We are children of God. And then, what does that mean, different aspects of it?

Matt, you want to do John 3, 7? You should not be surprised at my saying, you must be born again. Alright, Peggy, John 1, 12, and then Eleanor 1, 1 Peter 1, 23. John 1, 12. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them, let them live on his name. And then to finish that one out is, who were born, not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God. Okay, 1 Peter?

1 Peter 1.23 Being born again, not of corruptible sin, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. Okay. Three of them should be fairly obvious.

As children of God, we are born again. Born again. All three of those verses point out that we're born again, which is again important with our identification. Remember, without the death, we can't get rid of the identification with Adam. So we are crucified on the cross and born again as new creatures. So the born again is an important thing as far as our identification with Christ. The man is coming. The man says the battery is intermittent. Could you put the battery in my back here? I think I'm intermittent.

Thank you. All right, we're back up and running. It isn't on, so is that okay? Okay. Okay, next one. Norm, Ephesians 2, 1, and then, where are we going? And you have He made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins. Okay? Oh, this is the one Ingrid was having trouble on. Yeah. I kind of, yeah, you'll have to look at this one, and then who's, which way do you want to go? End or end? You want to go? Okay.

And using the nearest trespassers, on certain circumstances, a good flesh he has made alive together with him, Have they forgiven you of all your trespasses? Even when we were dead in sin, have quickened us together with Christ. By grace, ye are saved. And that's actually more, so the term I was looking for in here, you were dead, and then you were dead in your transgressions and then you were quickened. And it's actually quickened is the word I was looking for in there. And do you know what quickened means?

Anybody? Huh? Be made alive, yeah. Lewis Barry Chafer in his Systematic Theology puts it this way, the word quicken expresses the thought that an object is made alive that did not possess that life before. So that's a key point. We didn't possess this life before. It is wholly new. Through regeneration by the Spirit, as in the case with the flesh, there is an impartation of life. Regeneration imparts the divine nature. So this is quickening or made alive, but made alive in the Spirit. So again, we've got to have the death and then the quickening or the made alive, born again in Christ. Okay, number C, who are we at, Wayne? Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear, we shall be, but we know that when we shall appear, when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All right, Earlene, you've got 2 Corinthians 6, 6... 18?

Yeah. And we'll be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, sayeth the Lord God Almighty. All right. For ye are all the children of God, by faith in Christ Jesus. Okay, and out of all those, did we figure out what it is? Beloved, now we are children of God. And then, yeah, we should be sons and daughters. For you are all sons of God. I know you're probably going to get to this, but I think you have to distinguish between whether you're a born one of God or an adult son.

We're getting to that. The point is, we're born of God, we're children by offspring. By birth. And that's what this is, because we'll get to adoption. So yeah, we have children, Children of God is the one that's kind of a subheading of the already existing position we have. But we will get to the difference between adoption and children. That's a key difference, too. All right. David, are you... Okay. 517? 2 Corinthians 517.

Yeah. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. The old things have passed away. Behold, new things have come. Okay. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor bailout, faith, or any other form of circumcision, but in the creature. Right. And Marianne? Ephesians 2, 10.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, and it is in him that we shall have faithfulness. Okay, and the children of God, we are new creatures, new creation. That is absolutely key to this class. That's our identification. We are created anew, born again. All these terms, the children of God, this is all coming out of Adam into our identification with Christ. Very, very key. This shows that we're not an atom anymore. We're new creations, something completely new, not refurbished, not fixed up, not modified, but completely new. New creation.

And the word, actually, when you look in that, a new creation, the word new, and I think this is real key. I was trying to look at the Greek. I've gotten more appreciation. You can read the scriptures without the Greek, but I think it adds a lot. when you can look at some of the meanings of these words. The Greek word for new is katisis, and that means qualitatively new, original formation.

Okay, so it's not something that was there before, but completely new now. We are completely new in Christ now. There's a thought out there that that things will be back like they were before Adam sinned, but that doesn't say that. No. It says it's totally new of a different kind. Of a different kind, that's exactly right. I remember when Hal explains it, that was quality, completely new, as a different kind. And that's exactly, that really is a foundational thing in our identification, because it isn't what the world, or a lot of the Christianity now says, is I'm going to fix up the old Adam, I'm going to polish him up, We're going to impart the Holy Spirit so now we can do the law and fix it up and do all this. This is a key parameter because we are completely new. We are not a refurbished Adam. We are completely new, a new creation, qualitatively new.

Adam couldn't walk through trees either. Yeah, and through doorways and all that. But it's a key difference, because a lot of people still want to fix up the old Adam. That's what all the programs are for, to make us better in Adam. We know this. You can't be better in Adam. And this is key, that we're a new creation.

And the other thing, when you look at it, I always look at this, I'm amazed when I am sensitive to this now, is in Christ. In Christ. In Christ. In Christ. In Christ. Everything we have is in Him. Our identification is in Him. Everything that's true about Him is true about us. And it's exciting when you see it, that it's always in Christ, which takes the burden off us, which gets to my last question down there, number eight.

But we'll get to that one, if we can. Okay, quickly, E, who are we up to? Jessica. And then, going on with that, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace, we might be made heirs according to the hope of the eternal life. Again, how much is that us? His grace, His mercy poured out upon us. I think you're up, John 13.

He said to him, he who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, for it is completely clean. And you are clean, but not all of you. The key one are you are clean. Okay, Mike, First Corinthians? Not for some of you, but you are washed, but you are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. Okay, a little tough, but if we go back to the Titus one, the Titus 3-5, He saved us not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. Okay, so a little difficult on this one.

Basically the washing by regeneration. We are cleansed clean, we are cleaned by the regeneration, the rebirth. So it's washed through regeneration is the term I was looking at. That's a little difficult with the washing. It's basically cleaning or cleansing through our regeneration or rebirth. Any questions on that? Actually, what does regeneration mean? My quest for terminology. Rebirth. Born again. Exactly. So, we get cleansed by the washing, or by the regeneration, excuse me, by the rebirth.

Okay. I think we're on number two. Are we children of God now and something different when we step into eternity? And they all said, no. Isn't that cool? Throughout all eternity. That's pretty cool. We will always be children of God. There's an everlasting position due to our identification with Christ. Again, getting back, everything that is true about Him is true about us, minus the deity. So, we are children of God through eternity. That is cool. We don't change. We're new creatures. Okay, where are we at? I'm going to go, oh, Erica is now pointing over to Mike, but we're going to go to Erica.

Romans 8.15, she said she was going to kill me if I called her, but you know, the verses, we're going to have verses for everybody.

Romans 8.15 through 17. This is looking for our 10th position possession.

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now, if we are children, then we are heirs. Heirs of God and co-heirs of Christ. Indeed, we share in His suffering in order that we may also share in His glory. Okay, Ingrid? Okay, Romans 8, 23. Not only so, but we ourselves, too, have the firstfruits of the Spirit grown inwardly as we await eagerly for our adoption as sons. redemption of our bodies. Okay, and Craig.

So that He might redeem those who are under the law that we might receive the adoption of His Son. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir through God. Alright, through that, our 10th position possession. Adoption. That's actually adopted. We're adopted. Sons, and we'll get into it on the next one.

You know the cool part about that too, which I always look at, and when you look at this, when you look at those verses in the Galatians and the 1st Romans 1, we can go to God the Father, the creator of all the universe, and say Abba Father. That is the same thing as saying daddy, papa, whatever your intimate term is for your dad. That's the same thing we can do before God the Father.

What is it when anybody falls on their face? Get up. You are a son. You can come to me and say Abba, Father, Daddy, Papa, to the God of the universe. That's what we have. I don't know about you, but that just absolutely floors me. As children of God, we can go before God the Father and say, Daddy. I don't even know how I can do that. My tongue is going to get stuck.

But as a new creature, when we step before Him, we can say, Abba Father, it says we can do that. We can step before Him. Think of how far we've come. You know, as far as the Old Testament priests, you know, the huge veil, when God was present, there had to be a separation.

We couldn't even get anywhere near him. It was with Moses, when he went by and he held him in the cleft of the rock. And even then, he was shining for like weeks or whatever it was afterwards. Just when he held him in the cleft of the rock and he went by, he was glowing. We're going to have the ability to go before God, before him and cry out, Daddy. I mean, that's what we have, these possessions we have right now. That's unbelievable. Unbelievable to me.

How about children by birth? So, with this word adoption, is there like a transition between what we once were and then were adopted so they realize we're children of God. Now, this children by birth is like a deeper understanding of... Funny you should ask that. Look at question number four. How does a tenth possession, adopted, different from the position, possession number nine, children of God? That's exactly the question you're asking.

What is the difference between a child of God and being adopted? Seems kind of redundant, huh? I mean, if you're a child of God, why do you need to be adopted? Any thoughts? You have to grow up. I don't know. No. Adoption is something different in ancient times than it is now. Correct.

Adoption was a ceremony. like maybe Bar Mitzvah is now, in which the son came into adulthood and at that point he received the inheritance of his father. He was entitled to all the rights and privileges of being the son of the father, even though the father wasn't dead. He was adopted.

Basically what this means, and that's right, because when we think adoption now, we're being adopted into a family. you're an adult child, you're placed into a position that was now you could inherit, you could do all the different things. Our adoption is being placed forward as an adult child.

We now, we don't have to grow up to a position of like adoption where they were able to basically inherit, do everything, have all the full rights of the adult. We have that now. Once we are a child of God. We don't have to grow up to a position where we have the inheritance or all that. We are, as adopted, we are placed forward as an adult child.

Lewis Perry Chaffer had a good description of this. According to human custom, adoption is a means whereby an outsider may become a member of a family. It's a legal way to create a father and son relationship as a substitute for father and son reality. On the other hand, Divine adoption is primarily a divine act by which one, already a child by actual birth through the Spirit of God, is placed forward as an adult son in his relationship to God.

I thought that was a good way to do it. He also puts, In human experience, legitimate birth and adoption never combine in the same person. I thought that was kind of... In human experience, legitimate birth and adoption never combine in the same person. There is no occasion for a father to adopt his own child.

In the realm of divine adoption, every child born of God is adopted at the moment he is born. He is placed before God as a mature, responsible son. Thus, adoption becomes one of the important divine undertakings in the salvation of man and is a position of great importance.

So, basically, once we are a child of God, we are then immediately adopted, which means placed forward to a position of responsibility, of being an heir, Joint heirs. Right. Through our adoption, we are joint heirs immediately. We don't have to grow up to a position of inheritance. The minute we are a child of God, we are placed forward to that position of inheritance, which was, in the old time, the adoption, or you were adopted up to that point. You were given the inheritance? Yeah, we now have the inheritance. We have the inheritance. In the Jewish culture, The son was given the adult sons. He was given everything.

It's not only the Jewish culture, it was also the Roman culture. The best example of that, I can't remember the name of the movie, but it's the one with the great chariot race in it. Remember in the movie when he was rowing the boat? as a slave and they were at war and he saved the centurions life and later on they had this huge party in Rome it was an adoption ceremony where he became not only Ben-Hur but in Roman terms he was now known as Arius and he had the ring of his father so he went back to Jerusalem and he announces himself to the head of the Roman army there as Arius' son And he was accepted as Ares' son until the guy saw him and saw who he really was. But he was adopted. That was the ceremony that they went through in that movie. He was now a legal adopted son of this Roman...

Which means he gets everything that the father has. That's like a birthright. It is. Yeah, at that point, that's exactly it. That's the adoption. It's like a birthright. You have then everything that the father has is yours. Two things. One, where was that reference in Spirit? Do you have that on the table there? It's in the systematic theology. I can't remember which page number.

And the other thing on Romans 8.23, it's like there's a follow-up to part of the phrase that says, we ourselves go into ourselves waiting eagerly for adoption of sons. the redemption of our body. How does that fall through the phrase of complementing or supporting the adoption of sons? Adoption of sons, the redemption of our body. You mean like maybe when immortality or corruptibility puts on the corruption, Well, it just seems like your adoption of sons is being modified or whatever. The redemption of our body. Well, I think the key is the redemption of our body.

That's when we step into eternity. That is talking about our eagerly waiting to step into eternity. The redemption of the body is the last part of that phrase. So, two different... Yeah, well, I mean, we have it now positionally. Stepping into the redemption is... when we step out of this earthly shell into eternity and that's where I guess our full inheritance comes out is when we shirk this shell and get into eternity. I think the key part is that last part is waiting for the redemption of our body. So that's speaking of when we step into eternity we have all the inheritance. I mean we will physically or spiritually be there for everything that he has.

Right now we have it all but we're in this body. I think is the differentiation there. In 823 it says we have the first fruits of the spirit. The point is that we have, the adoption ceremony has taken place. We have been given the inheritance, but we don't possess all of the elements of the inheritance until we leave here. Because you don't get them here. Right, I mean we have them. They're legally ours, I mean, through the adoption, but we don't, yeah, as I said, with the redemption of the body, as soon as we step into it, that's when we get everything.

You know, the other thing about those verses in Romans that I've talked about, verses that sort of blow you away, if you take a hard look at what's going on there in terms of what God is doing, He does not, He does not, He, put it this way, He equates the restoration of the creation, the first creation, to the revealing of the sons of God. Which makes us so important. He doesn't equate it to Christ's return. He equates it to our being revealed as the sons of God.

And the fact that because of that, we're travailing, waiting for that to happen. It's an expectancy that we have. The point being this, that in verse 24 it says we're saved by hope. What's interesting about that is that hope is just as sure as faith, but hope looks forward to something that isn't actually possessed yet, which is a revealed body. The thing that's amazing to me is that God puts such importance on us.

He ties the releasing of the vanity that the creation has been submitted to, to the revealing of the Son of God. And that's in verse 19. I've gone back that many times. That's such a wild thought. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. All of creation is waiting for us. Wow. Yeah, that's an amazing, I mean, again, what we have in Christ. What we have in Christ. Just absolutely amazing.

Boy, I don't know. With five minutes to go, whether we should skip down. I want to make one more point about adoption. You're really not going to make me. We as believers need to think of ourselves as adopted sons. We need to stop thinking of ourselves as second class citizens who are a bunch of dirty sinners that maybe God will forgive us or not if we really try hard enough. We need to look at ourselves as being in Christ and being Because that's how he treats us. He does not treat us any other way. We can't make him mad. We can't do all of these things that in human terms we think we can do. We cannot get outside the grace in which he's already placed us in.

It is a key thing between adoption and children. Adoption is like, go ahead 20 spaces. We don't have to grow up. There is spiritual maturity, but He has already placed us as adult heirs. He's totally satisfied. Satisfied, yeah. I mean, it's a key thing, and when I went through this, that was kind of, you know, adoption and really looking through the differences of what that means. So, adoption is a key, and I think what Mike's saying is true. Do we consider that right now, as adult, mature, fully vested children of God? Maybe I'll try, so we can get back to Mike for next week, I'll just read down the different ones for our Acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.

A was made the righteousness of God in Christ. And then, oh yeah, the key part of that is the righteousness is imputed to the believer on the sole condition that he has believed on Christ as the Savior. It's an imputed righteousness. It's placed upon him by our belief in Christ, and that's the only condition.

The second one, B, is sanctified positionally. The third one, C, is perfected, and this was good, forever. In that Hebrews 1, by one offering He is perfected for all time, those who are sanctified. D, made accepted in the beloved. And then the last one, E, is made qualified. And with the Colossians 1, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Again, The way we have the inheritance is through the adoption. He has qualified us. He's enabled us to do that.

And then in 6, the verses that we've given there, I want to try and get down to the last one because I think that was what Mike was talking about earlier and I want to get to that. The 12th position, possession that we have from those verses, and I'll read the first one, Romans 5, therefore having justified by faith We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have also obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we exalt in the hope of the glory of God."

And then Romans 3, 23, "...for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith." All of those Actually, I want to get to the tightest one. The 12th position is justified, and I want to get to the tightest one. Titus 3, 4, and 8.

But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us. not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy statement." Again, it's justified by what? His grace. I want to get to 7 real quick.

What is the difference between righteousness and justification? Do we have to go through the definitions again? So, that's declared righteous. So, what is righteous? It's, by implication, innocent, holy. I like the way Lewis Barry Chafer put this, because the difference, the justification is pronounced or declared one righteous. Righteous is being innocent or holy before God.

Now, from Lewis Barry Chafer, I like this, the believer is constituted righteous by virtue of his position in Christ, but he is justified by a declaratory decree of God." See the difference? We get righteousness by being in Christ. We are justified by God because of our position in Christ. So, righteousness is imputed. Righteousness imputed is the abiding fact, and justification is the divine recognition of that fact. That's where the adoption comes in. All these fit together.

When you start putting all the pieces together, when you start reading these verses a lot, you see heirs, you see new creation, you see in Him, you see all these terms coming together. And it's really cool when you start figuring it out. The inheritance, when you see heirs, you realize that's adoption and what that means. That we were first born, born again, regenerated, washed, put into a new creation, and then we are then We're immediately placed forward to a position where we have all inheritance.

I mean, all these things we start reading these verses now, they really start coming together a lot. Because you start putting all these terms together and all these things that we have in Christ, it all starts to come together. You see, we get the full meal deal. We get everything. You know, that's where like in Ephesians, you know, we have been blessed with all spiritual blessings.

And we're going through these 34 positions, just so we get right off the bat, instantaneously, when we believe. Jeff and Mike? Oh, just, yeah, we won't be trying to cast out demons. No. All right, and then quickly, just to conclude my teaching time. Are any of the 12 positions attributed to us when we receive the Lord discussed above based on our merits or behavior? And the class said...

No, thank you. That's it. Rest. Peace. Rest. Peace. No work. All right, why don't we close real quick with a word of prayer. I'm a couple minutes over. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time. Father, we thank you for any time we can just study your Word, because as we study your Word, we just get a better vision, a better clarity of who we are in Christ, and we get a better relationship, a better knowledge of your Son, that intimacy that we long for with your Son. to help us to conform to His image.

And we thank You for any time that we can study His Word. And we're just thankful that You have not left us alone. You've given us Your Word. You've given us the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And we just rest in those facts. And we just thank You for this time. And we just commit this day to You. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.